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Change own oil in your car?
02-17-2007, 02:35 PM
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#1
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: South Texas~29N/98W Just West of Woman Hollering Creek
Posts: 6,668
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Change own oil in your car?
If you change your own oil in your vehicles, how do you dispose of the "black oil" after you are finished with the project?
I have handled it various ways over the years (some I'm not proud of), but I currently do it the right way and take it over to the local Wal-Mart auto shop and ask if I can dump it into their vast pit of goo. They have never said no to me. I presume that they are required to take it from me, but I'm not exactly sure.
What do you do with your left over goo? 8)
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In dire need of: faster horses, younger woman, older whiskey, more money.
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Re: Change own oil in your car?
02-17-2007, 02:43 PM
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#2
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: minnesota
Posts: 13,228
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Re: Change own oil in your car?
Our city has household hazardous waste collection spots, where you bring things like dirty oil. Free.
http://www.wlssd.com/publications/HHW%20guide.htm
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No more lawyer stuff, no more political stuff, so no more CYA
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Re: Change own oil in your car?
02-17-2007, 02:48 PM
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#3
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Williamsport
Posts: 489
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Re: Change own oil in your car?
Almost any Auto Parts store will take it for free. I use Advance Auto, up to 6 gallons per week. But it takes me a few months to save up that much. They also take batteries for free
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"Iron" Mike - Semper Fi
Jack of all trades; Master of none.
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Re: Change own oil in your car?
02-17-2007, 02:52 PM
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#4
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 1,183
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Re: Change own oil in your car?
How do you transport the oil to the waste center? Do you have some kind of sealable container that does not spill while driving (or walking) there?
Thanks,
Kramer
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Re: Change own oil in your car?
02-17-2007, 02:52 PM
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#5
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Chicago
Posts: 13,149
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Re: Change own oil in your car?
I don't change my oil myself too much anymore.....and never in the winter. Somehow, the $15 savings doesn't seem like all that much when I'm laying on the fridgid, cement garage floor!
But, when I do, I drop it off at Pit Pro, similar to what you do with Walmart.
Oh yeah......I save a little to use as bar lub for my chain saw.
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"I wasn't born blue blood. I was born blue-collar." John Wort Hannam
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Re: Change own oil in your car?
02-17-2007, 02:55 PM
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#6
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: South Texas~29N/98W Just West of Woman Hollering Creek
Posts: 6,668
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Re: Change own oil in your car?
Quote:
How do you transport the oil to the waste center?
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I buy oil in those plastic containers with the long neck and I just refill them with black oil, screw the cap back on, and take them to Wal-Mart in 2-3 plastic bags along with my old oil filter.
__________________
Part-Owner of Texas
Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read. Groucho Marx
In dire need of: faster horses, younger woman, older whiskey, more money.
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Re: Change own oil in your car?
02-17-2007, 03:07 PM
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#7
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 1,183
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Re: Change own oil in your car?
Quote:
Originally Posted by mickeyd
I buy oil in those plastic containers with the long neck and I just refill them with black oil, screw the cap back on, and take them to Wal-Mart in 2-3 plastic bags along with my old oil filter.
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Thanks, mickeyd. I have not been changing my oil for 20 years now, but this is something I figure I might do for myself in FIRE. It seems like the going rate is around $30, so I am guessing that is around $20 savings after parts and labor for doing it yourself?
Kramer
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Re: Change own oil in your car?
02-17-2007, 03:14 PM
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#8
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: minnesota
Posts: 13,228
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Re: Change own oil in your car?
Quote:
Originally Posted by kramer
How do you transport the oil to the waste center? Do you have some kind of sealable container that does not spill while driving (or walking) there?
Thanks,
Kramer
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Greg puts in in an old milk jug. Don't leave it in there too long though, they will disintegrate.
__________________
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No more lawyer stuff, no more political stuff, so no more CYA
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Re: Change own oil in your car?
02-17-2007, 03:17 PM
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#9
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Central, Ohio, USA
Posts: 2,635
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Re: Change own oil in your car?
Buy mine in the 5 Quart Jug at Wal-Mart. Drain the oil, put in the empty 5 Quart Jug and take it back to Wal-Mart. No muss no fuss.
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Vietnam Veteran, CW4 USA, Retired 1979
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Re: Change own oil in your car?
02-17-2007, 03:24 PM
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#10
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 608
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Re: Change own oil in your car?
i take mine to the hazardous chemical recycling at local landfill.
The guy there had a bunch of spare containers and gave me a
nice heavy-duty plastic gasoline container. That way I don't
have to go every time I change oil.
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Re: Change own oil in your car?
02-17-2007, 03:25 PM
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#11
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Chicago
Posts: 13,149
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Re: Change own oil in your car?
Quote:
Originally Posted by kramer
Thanks, mickeyd. I have not been changing my oil for 20 years now, but this is something I figure I might do for myself in FIRE. It seems like the going rate is around $30, so I am guessing that is around $20 savings after parts and labor for doing it yourself?
Kramer
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I save about $15. Pit Pro does it for about $25 with a coupon. The local franchise is cooperative about letting me be out there in the shop directing activities so I know they have checked everything they say they check and have done things correctly.
But, despite my stiff, old 59 year old body, I still run the cars up on the ramps and crawl under to do it myself when it's not so cold out in the garage.
What do you guys do with the filters? I just let them drain dry and drop them in the garbage. There doesn't seem to be any other choice.
__________________
"I wasn't born blue blood. I was born blue-collar." John Wort Hannam
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Re: Change own oil in your car?
02-17-2007, 03:35 PM
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#12
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: South Texas~29N/98W Just West of Woman Hollering Creek
Posts: 6,668
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Re: Change own oil in your car?
One of our cars is a 2005 Camry however the damn oil filter is impossible to get to in my garage as you either need a special tool or need to be standing in a pit under that car. Still working on that one....
__________________
Part-Owner of Texas
Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read. Groucho Marx
In dire need of: faster horses, younger woman, older whiskey, more money.
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Re: Change own oil in your car?
02-17-2007, 03:47 PM
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#13
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Oahu
Posts: 26,855
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Re: Change own oil in your car?
Quote:
Originally Posted by mickeyd
If you change your own oil in your vehicles, how do you dispose of the "black oil" after you are finished with the project?
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Our oil goes into a regular plastic trash bag with a huge wad of newspapers until it's all a gooey oil-soaked mess, then it's put into the trash. The trash truck dumps its entire load at the HPower plant. (You can also buy a $1.99 box of 0.5 cu ft filled with shredded newspaper that absorbs your oil and goes through the same process.) HPower does a little sorting and burns it to generate electricity that they sell to HECO. The leftover metal goes to recyclers and the ash (what little there is) goes to an "ashphalt" plant. The HPower plant is on Oahu's southwest corner so the northeast tradewinds blow its stack gases straight out to sea.
One of the HPower shift managers is a retired submariner. They're one of the top half-dozen firms hiring veterans who think it's fun to deal with messes like that. I think of it as lifetime employment.
One of Oahu's more popular attractions for locals is the "Tour de Trash" where they take busloads of taxpayers around the various disposal sites to show off how it works. ( http://envhonolulu.org/solid_waste/Tour_de_Trash.htm) HPower even demonstrates how their sorting & shredding is automated, heavily armored, and designed to vent upwards for the occasional undetected propane cylinder or leftover fireworks. Sometimes the energy "yield" is a bit more than they expected.
One stop on the Tour de Trash is the Hawaii Earth Products yard, where they take our green waste and compost it in windrows that are 100 yards long, 10 feet high, and 20 feet wide. There'll be a couple dozen windrows cooking away at a time. Other businesses shred old autos for scrap metal, dispose of construction debris (cement & gypsum & carpeting), recycle old roads & glass into new asphalt, even vitrify medical waste in a carbon arc, and even show off the sewage plant.
Quote:
Originally Posted by youbet
What do you guys do with the filters? I just let them drain dry and drop them in the garbage. There doesn't seem to be any other choice.
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Into the trash with the oil-soaked newspaper. I figure if Fram makes as crappy a filter as the other parts companies claim then it doesn't last long in the waste stream.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mickeyd
One of our cars is a 2005 Camry however the damn oil filter is impossible to get to in my garage as you either need a special tool or need to be standing in a pit under that car.
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Ever try running one or both front wheels up on a Rhino Ramp and sliding underneath? Can you reach it that way?
I've noticed that most filters and their mounting threads are designed to spill as much oil as possible all over the chassis & exhaust before you get them safely bagged up. So I only change the oil every six months, which works out to about once every 1500-2000 miles...
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Co-author (with my daughter) of “Raising Your Money-Savvy Family For Next Generation Financial Independence.”
Author of the book written on E-R.org: "The Military Guide to Financial Independence and Retirement."
I don't spend much time here— please send a PM.
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Re: Change own oil in your car?
02-17-2007, 03:55 PM
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#14
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 2,670
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Re: Change own oil in your car?
I do my own oil change mostly because I like putzing with my vehicle.
I use a reusable used oil container that holds up to 2 oil changes worth of used oil. It lies flat on the ground under the vehicle and has a self-contained funnel-shaped drip pan and a screw cap to close it up when finished. It has another screw cap near the handle that is used to empty the oil.
I just bring it to the same place I buy my oil to have it emptied and returned to me.
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No man is free who is not master of himself. --- Epictetus
Enjoy Yourself (It's Later Than You Think). --- Guy Lombardo
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Re: Change own oil in your car?
02-17-2007, 04:05 PM
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#15
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Losing my whump
Posts: 22,708
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Re: Change own oil in your car?
Here in the peoples republic of california, both the oil and filter are considered hazardous materials and you can get one heck of a fine for improper disposal of either.
The good news is, I think most places that sell or change oil are required to take your old stuff back. But they dont have to make it easy on you, they dont have to be nice about it, and they dont have to take your container, just the oil.
But we have a nice hazardous waste place that takes batteries, oil, paint, etc for free, they're open all day every day, and they dont give you a lot of trouble.
Costs me about ten bucks to change my oil. Usually $3-5 for the filters on sale, and I buy "wolfs head" oild from sams club for a little over a buck a quart. The old timers will remember wolfs head as an old-time brand from way back. Pennzoil bought the name years ago and sells pennzoil under that name to hit the el-cheapos among us without diluting their brand.
My expedition was a horrifying experience to do as a large team of scientists using massive supercomputers determined the absolute worst spot on the engine to mount the filter. Once that was achieved, teams of tiny elves were hired to sharpen every piece of metal near the filter, and a special brain trust was tapped to find as many obscure other engine-bay items to place as close as possible to the filter, all around it.
My BMW was also interesting, as the filter was on top of the motor, open side down. Pretty much guaranteed to dump its contents all over the exhaust manifold. About what you'd expect from a car whose fuel pump replacement instructions started with "remove exhaust system; remove drive shaft"...which I translated roughly from german to english as "remove rear seat, cut hole over fuel pump through sheet metal with reciprocating saw"
Infiniti came a close second to the BMW in intelligent oil spillage geometry by placing the filter on the front of the motor amidst all the fan belts. Took me an hour with a flashlight to FIND it the first time.
The RAV4 has the plug and filter on the front of the engine, right behind the bumper. I dont even have to get under it, just shove the drain pan under it, reach under and its all done in about 2 minutes.
I'm about to find out how hard it is to do the oil change in the lexus. The nearest dealer is about 45 minutes away and when I was in the area the other day and called to see if they could do a quicky oil change, they told me the next available 'slot' was a week away. For an oil change. :
Our toyota dealer can do them, but the last time I took it there the mechanic looked at it and practically mimicked the old aamco commercial "Gee...I always wanned to work on one of them there japanneeeeese transmissseyones". It appeared that I had learned more from reading the lexus product brochures and putting gas in the car every six weeks than the mechanic knew about them.
Sooo...looks like I'll be removing a large plastic belly pan sometime in the near future...while my wife thinks up ways to blame me for everything that ever goes wrong with the car from this point forward.
By the way, to remove oil filters without sloshing, find an empty (or about to be) round plastic bottle of something thats flexible and only slightly larger than the oil filter and cut the top off of it...then spread some glue inside of it and while the glue is tacky, sprinkle it with sand and then shake out the residual. You now have a handy-dandy oil filter removal tool that'll catch all the loose oil. Slip it over the filter, squeeze and spin.
Note: this does not work on an infiniti q45 or bmw 325ic, unless you suspend the car upside down or from its tail (respectively) or have an anti-gravity device.
I have also tested the fram "quick drain" and found it to be a fabulous device that saves no time at all, still dribbles oil and often leaks.
And yes, fram filters do suck.
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Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful. Just another form of "buy low, sell high" for those who have trouble with things. This rule is not universal. Do not buy a 1973 Pinto because everyone else is afraid of it.
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Re: Change own oil in your car?
02-17-2007, 05:16 PM
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#16
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Oahu
Posts: 26,855
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Re: Change own oil in your car?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cute Fuzzy Bunny
I have also tested the fram "quick drain" and found it to be a fabulous device that saves no time at all, still dribbles oil and often leaks.
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The Quick Drain is a godsend to those who tend to overtorque crankcase bolts and strip them out when the manufacturer isn't making them anymore.
Or so I've been told.
I start it draining before I tackle the filter. By the time I'm done with the filter the Quick Drain is done with the sump.
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Co-author (with my daughter) of “Raising Your Money-Savvy Family For Next Generation Financial Independence.”
Author of the book written on E-R.org: "The Military Guide to Financial Independence and Retirement."
I don't spend much time here— please send a PM.
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Re: Change own oil in your car?
02-17-2007, 05:17 PM
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#17
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Where the stars at night are big and bright
Posts: 2,847
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Re: Change own oil in your car?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cute Fuzzy Bunny
Our toyota dealer can do them, but the last time I took it there the mechanic looked at it and practically mimicked the old aamco commercial "Gee...I always wanned to work on one of them there japanneeeeese transmissseyones".
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In the 90's my city car was a 92 LS400 that used to belong to a crack dealer. It was nearly new when I first got it and I did my best to keep it away from Mega PD's mechanics (Official Motto: Get a Bigger Hammer!) until it was out of warranty. That worked fine as long as it was under warranty, and I was springing for oil changes out of my pocket. Eventually though, as the car got more miles on it and the warranty expired, I took it to the certified half-blind morons mechanics at Fleet Services and asked them to change the oil and filter.
I stood and watched the guy they assigned to do the work. He figured out the oil pan drain plug quickly enough, but then he couldn't find the oil filter. After ten minutes of hunting he went and got a co-worker who went through the same process with the same results. And so it went until there were four guys underneath. At any second I expected to see cutting torches being hauled over. The garage crew was a ethnically diverse group and after nearly thirty minutes of trying to find the filter somebody called over one of the Vietnamese mechanics. They made room for him and he was showing them the filter in seconds. As he walked away one of the guys asked him if he had ever worked at a Lexus dealership.
Quote:
No way. Man, you just got to have slanty eyes to work on asian car!
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There is no pleasure in having nothing to do; the fun is having lots to do and not doing it. - Andrew Jackson
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Re: Change own oil in your car?
02-17-2007, 05:27 PM
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#18
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Williamsport
Posts: 489
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Re: Change own oil in your car?
Quote:
Originally Posted by kramer
How do you transport the oil to the waste center? Do you have some kind of sealable container that does not spill while driving (or walking) there?
Thanks,
Kramer
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Yep, DW buys her kitty litter in big plastic jugs with nice screw tight caps on them. I pressed two of those into duty. When both are full I go to AA and drop the oil. Reuse the jugs.
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"Iron" Mike - Semper Fi
Jack of all trades; Master of none.
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Re: Change own oil in your car?
02-17-2007, 05:30 PM
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#19
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Full time employment: Posting here.
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Location: Columbus
Posts: 769
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Re: Change own oil in your car?
I put mine in gallon milk jugs and take it to work. One of the techs has a waste oil heater in his home shop and he keeps a few plastic crates in the back of his truck. I just park beside him and put the jugs in the crates. Worked so far for about 10 years.
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100% retired and working hard at it.
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Re: Change own oil in your car?
02-17-2007, 05:35 PM
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#20
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: May 2004
Location: SW Ohio
Posts: 14,404
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Re: Change own oil in your car?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nords
The Quick Drain is a godsend to those who tend to overtorque crankcase bolts and strip them out when the manufacturer isn't making them anymore.
Or so I've been told.
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Yep, that's the only reason I installed the Quick Drain. I was already using the oversize drain plug (for-idiots-who-have- cross-threaded-their-original-one-very-badly). The Quick Drain thing is no easier to use, and it seems to take a very long time to drain the oil.
JC Whitney sells a filter relocation kit I've been tempted to buy. I could move the filter on our minivan to someplace accessible, and even mount it with the opening up. The $50-$65 price seems okay.
http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/P...002024/c-10101
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